(The
Best Years in Life) Few things are worse than the crying in the
night signaling an ear infection. Misery, missed school and a trip to the
doctor for antibiotics have been standard procedure for decades. But now
that the damage to health from antibiotics is known, many parents are
looking for another healing method. Chiropractic offers a natural
alternative to the medical establishment's "standard of care".

Why do we need an
alternative to antibiotics? Probably the primary reason is that antibiotic
use leads to resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are never able to kill all the
bacteria involved in an infection, instead reducing them to a number that is
hopefully manageable by the child's immune system. Bacteria evolve quickly,
and random mutations may cause one or two of those that remain to have a
gene that protects against antibiotic. The descendants of these mutated
bacteria will have developed antibiotic resistance and will be resistant or
even immune to that particular antibiotic drug.

"Superbugs" are bacteria
that have become resistant to multiple antibiotics.
They are extremely difficult to kill because antibiotics are useless against
them. The result is that bacterial infections are becoming a constant danger
to human life, just as they were before the invention of antibiotics. As a
result, it is paramount that we look to other healing methods that work.

Another reason for seeking
out alternatives to antibiotics is the damage antibiotics do to the friendly
bacteria that normally populate the body, particularly those that inhabit
the digestive tract. Whenever antibiotics are used, friendly bacteria are
killed off along with the invaders, leaving the intestinal tract wide open
to be repopulated with unfriendly microorganisms.

intervention
Chiropractic stops earaches

When we think of
alternative medicine, chiropractors may not leap to mind. But chiropractic
is the most utilized field of alternative medicine. Chiropractors work with
infants and young children as well as adults to correct misalignments in the
spine or other joints that negatively impact the nervous system, the master
controller of all the processes in the body, including the immune
system. When the immune system is at its peak, disease cannot get started,
and when any negative drag upon the immune system is eliminated, good health
quickly returns.

Subluxation
is any displacement that creates an impediment to proper functioning of the
nervous system. When a subluxation is present in the cervical (neck) area of
the spine, proper drainage of lymph fluid from the ears is
often affected. Lymph is a fluid of the immune system that is found between
the cells of the human body. Lymph fluid carries lymphocytes to and from the
lymph nodes and helps to collect foreign microbes, including disease causing
bacteria and viruses. In the lymph nodes, these foreign microbes are
destroyed. When the lymph system is not flowing as it should, drainage from
the ears and head becomes backed up, leading to ear infection.

Chiropractic care operates
on the basic principal underlying all alternative medicine: give
the body what it needs and it will heal itself. Chiropractic
adjustment can release slowed lymph drainage and restore proper immune
system functioning, enabling the body to prevent infection and heal any
infection that is present.

Dr Joe Esposito,
chiropractor and founder of Alignlife takes the management of childhood
earaches very seriously. "Although it may be a health condition some
consider a simple 'fad' that children will grow out of, the long term health
implications from treatment can last a lifetime."

He recommended parents play
a proactive role in managing ear infections, especially in the first year of
life. This can be accomplished by planning a natural child birth when
possible, breast feeding for at least the first six months of life, delayed
introduction of cow's milk until at least twelve months of age and keeping
the mother's diet as healthy as possible during pregnancy and breast
feeding.

"Research shows that
introducing antibiotics increases the risk of asthma significantly during
the first year of life," says Dr. Esposito. "One round of antibiotics can
raise the risk of asthma by 12% and three rounds of antibiotics will
increase the risk by a shocking 30%!" And the asthma risk continues after
the first year of life.

"Antibiotic therapy
increases the risk of all autoimmune diseases such as allergies, rheumatoid
disorders, digestive concerns, and others" says Dr. Esposito writing for
Alignlife. "When antibiotics are given at numerous times in the first year
of life, damage occurs to the permeability (penetration) of the child's gut
lining allowing undigested foods to prematurely transfer from the gut to the
blood which causes the body's immune system to attack the undigested food as
if it were an infection. This immune reaction creates a massive cascade
shifting the child's innate, healthy immune system to a paranoid,
hyper-responsive immune system." This is a life altering change.

When he completes a
digestive analysis on children that have had multiple episodes of antibiotic
therapy, Dr. Esposito usually sees that their guts are covered in millions
of yeast and other fungal infections and harmful bacteria. "Since the
digestive stool analysis is rarely evaluated in conventional medicine, these
children go through life with faulty digestion, a weak immune system,
chronic gut infections and overall reduced health. These conditions often
lead down the road of chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome,
fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety and numerous other conditions managed with
a drug cocktail of antidepressants, sleeping pills, digestive aids, caffeine
and excess sugar."

In addition to being
proactive in the prevention of childhood earaches, the role of chiropractic
in managing the condition has been very successful. If there is neurological
stress in the upper neck of the child (which could stem from the birth
process itself) the child will continue to suffer from episodes of earaches
until the integrity of the nerve is repaired.

Chiropractic adjustment is
done with exact but gentle manipulation, accompanied by a light lymphatic
massage. In addition, many chiropractors now provide nutritional counseling
and recommendations for herbs and essential oils that can speed healing and
help maintain wellness.

Additional effective
natural treatments for ear infection

One such oil frequently
recommended is eucalyptus. A few drops of eucalyptus oil can be added
to a humidifier to help break up ear congestion as well as sinus
congestion. Two drops of tea tree oil can be mixed with twenty drops of
olive oil to create an effective oil with which to massage the outer
ears. Apply the oil in a light stroking pattern going diagonally from behind
the ears down to the collarbone. Garlic and a few drops of mullein oil,
warmed and dropped into the infected ear works well to decrease pain and
inflammation. This can be covered with a cotton ball. However, nothing
should be put into the ear if there is a discharge.

These are the
recommendations of Phyllis and James Balch in Prescription for
Nutritional Healing:

Make a paste of onion
powder or clay from a health food store and apply it to the outside of
the ear to relieve pain.

Use olive leaf extract
to help the body fight off infection.

Place 1/2 dropper full
of alcohol-free goldenseal extract in the mouth and swish it around for
a few minutes before swallowing. Do this every three hours for three
days. Alternating echinacea with goldenseal is highly effective.

For an infant, put the
goldenseal extract in formula or expressed breast milk, or in yogurt.

Avoid allergenic foods
such as wheat, dairy products, corn, oranges, peanut butter, and all
simple carbohydrates, including sugar, fruits, and fruits juices, as
these encourage the growth and multiplication of bacteria.

Dr. Esposito's
recommendation for parents

Dr.
Esposito's message to parents: "If you are wondering when you should take
your child to the doctor for an earache or for that matter, a cold, a fever,
etc. then I suggest you read How to Raise a Child in Spite of Their
Doctor. If there was one book that I would tell all parents to read this
would be that book."

Barbara is a school psychologist and the author of Dividend Capture, a book on personal finance. She is a breast cancer survivor using bioidentical hormone therapy, and a passionate advocate of natural health with hundreds of articles on many aspects of health and wellness. She is the editor and publisher of AlignLife's Health Secrets Newsletter.

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